Christmas tree holder



April 11, 1950 R. M LATCHIE CHRISTMAS TREE HOLDER Filed Oct. 30, 1946 .fiwellioz" ROBERT I MAC. LATCME Patented Apr. 11, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE" CHRISTMAS TREE HOLDER Robert MacLatcliie, Penllyn, Pa.

Application October 30, 1946, Serial No. 706,524

3 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved construction of holder for supporting Christmas trees and the like in vertically upright position, it being among the principal objects of the present invention to provide a collapsible holder, the several parts of which may be readily and conveniently assembled into compact form for storage in a comparatively small space.

A further object is to provide a holder so constructed of component parts as to adapt it to be readily assembled in the form of a simple and rugged unit, which is not only capable of adequately supporting Christmas trees of various trunk sizes, but which also insures securement of the tree in such balanced upright position as to effectively eliminate any possibility of its being accidentally overturned.

A still further object is to provide a knockdown construction of holder, the several component parts of which are of such simple and inexpensive design and construction as to readily adapt them for assembly into operative tree-supporting relation without necessitating the use of any special tools, the assembled unit being adjustable for rigid and secure support of any size of Christmas tree.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter, it being understood that the present invention consists substantially in the combination, construction, location and relative arrangement of parts, all as set forth in the detailed description which follows, as shown in the accompanying illustrative drawings and as finally pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invention- Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the' holder of the present invention assembled for support of a Christmas tree;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the assembled base of the holder;

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing one of the legs of the base secured to the central hub element of the holder;

Figure 4 is a view of the base leg per se;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the hub element per se;

Figure 6 is a view of one of the elements for anchoring the tree-engaging chain to its associated base leg; and

Figure '7 is a view illustrating the locking action of the anchor element on the base leg.

Referring now more particularly to the draw- 2 I ings, it will be observed that the holder of the present invention generally consists of a central hub element II] in the form of a spider having a plurality of radially extending arms II to each of which is adapted to be detachably secured an elongated base leg member I2. The several arms II of the hub element are so angularly related with respect to each other and to the horizontal,

plane that when the base leg members I2 are respectively secured thereto, as shown in Figures 1.

and 2, an assembly is provided in the form of a tripod, the center point of which is raised only slightly above the horizontal plane of the outer extremities of the tripod leg members I2.

Preferably, the arms I I of the hub element are of solid form, while the leg members IZ-are of tubular construction, so that the inner ends of,

the latter may fit snugly over the radially extending arms of the hub. If desired, however, the leg members also may be of solid form with their inner ends socketed to respectively receive the radial arms of the hub element, or, the arms themselves may be socketed to respectively receive therein the inner ends of the base leg mem In any case, the hub element Ill and the leg members I2, when properly assembled as shown, provide a firm and substantial tripod base, for the Christmas tree, the center of gravity of the assembled Ibase being so low in relation to the length of the supporting legs thereof as to effec-,

tually preclude any possibility of the base being accidentally overturned. Preferably, the outer ends of the base legs are fitted with ball-shaped members l3, either separately secured thereto or integrally formed thereon, to prevent m-arring of the surface upon which the base is placed.

Operatively associated with each base leg I2 is a flexible chain or cable I4, which functions as a guy to hold in upright position the trunk of the Christmas tree. Each of these guy chains I4 is loosely secured at one end thereof, to its associated base leg l2 by means of an anchor element I5 of the form and construction best shown in Figure- 6, the opposite free end of the chain being fitted with a hook element I6. The anchor element I5 is in each instance in the form of a plate I! hav--- ing an aperture I8 therein of slightly larger 1 diameter than the outside diameter of the base leg over which it is loosely fitted. The upper end of the plate I1 is provided with an integral tab portion I9 which is permanently secured to the chain, as at 20, said tab portion being bent somewhat out of the plane of the apertured plate I1 and toward the outer extremity of the base leg in order to provide for increased leverage on the plate when the chain is drawn taut toward the vertical center line of the tripod base. In order to strengthen and rigidify the apertured plate H, the lower edge thereof is flanged, as at 2|.

It will be apparent that when the several guy chains I4 are drawn toward the vertical center line of the tripod support, the apertured plates I! automatically assume the canted positions shown in full lines in Figures 1 and 7, in which positions said plates bind upon the base legs [2 with which they are respectively associated to prevent movement thereof inwardly on said legs.

The guy chains M are each of suificient length to permit their free inner ends to be wrapped one or more times about the trunk of the tree to be supported when the outer ends oi the chains are locked to their respective base legs a substantial distance outwardly from the center of the tripod base. The center hub element ID of the base is centrally provided with an upwardly sharp-pointed pin 22 which is adapted to be centrally projected into and engage the base of the tree trunk A.

In use of the device of the present invention, the base of the tree trunk is first centrally engaged by the-pointed pin 22 of the tripod hub and thereafter the free ends of the several guy chains are wrapped about the trunk at suitably elevated points and secured thereto by each chain element being hooked back upon itself. The sev eral chains are then drawn outwardly from the tree trunk into as taut a condition as possible, this being effected by shifting the anchor plates ll outwardly along their respectively associated base legs I: until no such further movement is possible.- The chains are then under sufficient tension to maintain the anchor plates ll canted, as shown in Figures 1 and 7, in which position they bind upon and securely anchor the outer ends of the chains to the base legs to provide guys which firmly and rigidly maintain the tree in the desired upright position.

To remove the tree from its holder, it is merely necessary to relieve the tension on one or more of the guy chains by disengaging the anchor element l5 of the chain from its binding engagement with its associated base leg I2, this being effected most expeditiously by applying pressure to the tab 2| of the anchor element in a direc-.

tion to shift it into its dotted line position shown in Figure '7. Thereupon the tree trunk may be lifted vertically from its engagement with the center pin 22 and then lowered to permit complete disengagement of the chains therefrom.

An important advantage of the present 0011- struction of tree holder is that it enables the tree trunk to be positionally adjusted into a position which is truly vertical regardless of the level of the floor or the positions of the base leg extremities relatively to the horizontal plane. Thus, even though one base leg extremity may be disposed at a higher elevation than the others, due to uneven floor conditions, the tree trunk may be maintained in true vertical position byproper positional adjustment of the anchor elements to vary the relative lengths of the guy chains to compensate for variations in the level of the base:

leg extremities.

When the holder is not in use, the several component parts thereof may be assembled into a small and compact package for storage, it being especially noted that no tools are required either for the assembly or disassembly of the holder parts, and that the holder is adapted to support Christmas trees having trunks of widely varying diameter.

It will be understood, of course, that the present invention is susceptible of various changes and modifications which may be made from time to time without departing from the general principles or real spirit thereof, and it is accordingly intended to claim the invention broadly as well as specifically as indicated in the appended claims.

What is claimed as new and useful is:

l. A holder for Christmas trees and the like comprising, in combination, a base support for the tree trunk having a plurality of radially extending floor-engaging members, a vertically extendingpin centered with respect to said members for detachably engaging the base of said tree trunk, a'plurality of flexible guy elements respectively adapted to extend from points on the tree trunk above said pin to points on said members spaced outwardly from said pin, and terminal anchor devices for said guy elements respectively associated with said floor-engaging members, said anchor devices being shiftable along their associated floor-engaging members for binding engagement therewith automatically as the guy ele-" ments are drawn into taut condition.

In a holder for Christmas trees and the'like,

in combination, a base support for the tree trunk havim a plurality of radially eytending floorengaging members, means centered with respect to said members for engaging and securing in position the base of the tree trunk, a plurality of guy elements respectively adapted to be extended from said floor-engaging members to said tree trunk, and means for anchoring the outer ex-' tremities of said guy elements to said floorengaging members, said anchoring means including in each instance an apertured plate loosely fitted on each floor-engaging member, said plate being tiltable into a position such that the plane of its aperture inclines with respect to the floorwith respect to said members for engaging and seciu'ing in position the base of the tree trunk,"

a plurality of flexible guy elements respectively adapted to extend from points on the tree trunk above said means to points on said members spaced outwardly from said means, and terminal anchor devices for said guy elements respectively associated with said floor engaging members, said anchor devices being shiftable along their associated floor-engaging members for binding errgagement therewith automatically as the guy ele-' ments are drawn into taut condition.

ROBERT MAeLATCl-IIE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 806,402 Donnelly Dec. 5, 1905, 2,260,932 Chulick et a1 Oct. 28, 1941. 

